Ms. Brenda Yoo, the current Vice Principal of THS, is set to transition from her role to the position of Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction at Tenafly Public Schools starting the 2024-25 school year. What changes will occur with her new position? 

When asked about her current occupations as the Vice Principal, Yoo explained, “One of my primary roles as VP, aside from taking charge of almost all school facilities with Mr. Morrison… was to help struggling students both academically and behaviorally… [through] action plans that prioritize their growth.” Through such plans of aid for students at THS, Yoo noted her joy and gratitude upon seeing students’ gradual success. “When I see my students grow, that’s really the highlight of my day… seeing them become successful is so amazing to see,” she expressed. 

Regarding her transition into her new position as Assistant Superintendent, Yoo described how her roles would also change. “Although I will continue my primary role of working with curriculum and instruction––which has always been my passion––I’m excited to be overseeing the overall district curriculum (K-12),” she stated. Even though Yoo expressed her sorrows of leaving her current position at THS, she also conveyed her excitement for yet another journey in her career. “I’m very excited to see how our curriculum can become more robust in the upcoming years, to elevate our teaching even more than it already is,” she said.

Furthermore, Yoo has been a notable administrator at Tenafly Public Schools for the past 19 years, with numerous positions in her journey marked by her steadfast commitments to strive for educational excellence. Yoo first began her career at Tenafly as a fourth-grade classroom teacher at J. Spencer Smith Elementary School, where her dedication could easily be seen with her winning the esteemed Teacher of the Year award in 2009 for her contributions. Since then, Yoo moved to become a Literacy Staff Developer for two years, a position in which she worked on efforts to implement better teaching methods with reading and writing. Afterwards, she moved on to become the Principal of Mackay Elementary School, being in charge of roughly 350-400 students. As the Principal, Yoo led and supervised multiple school-wide facilities for students––a position she continued for over seven years. 

Then, in the summer of 2022, Ms. Yoo joined the Tenafly High School staff as she assumed the position of Vice Principal, leading beside Mr. Morrison since the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. Yoo explained her emotions when embarking on her new journey at the highschool level: “All my teaching career had been in elementary schools before, so when I transitioned into high school, I was at first very sad. However, I didn’t realize how much I would love the high school.”

As Ms. Yoo takes yet another significant step forward in her career, she will undoubtedly make a long-lasting impact with her commitments and unceasing dedication to provide what is best for students and the Tenafly community. Indeed, she is excited for the upcoming school year and the changes it will bring: “I’m really looking forward to working with content-area supervisors… bringing all components together to elevate the curriculum better than it already is!”